We Didn't Start The
by Monday1113
Summary: So this is the sequal to my last NGN fanfic. The peace that had fallen upon Ninjago after the ninja made a deal with Pythor is beginning to end, Alice and the other New Generation Ninja have grown up and have their own lives. When the Serpentine's plan to rule is put in place, what will happen?
1. prologue

**Well I decided that i'm going to make a prologue. First chapter should be up within the next few weeks...it all depends what my lovely friends decide to say to me.**

**I shall be placing a full list of the Oc's in all of my fanfics and I will credit their owners on my profile sometime soon. I do not own Ninjago, it would still be running if I did(I'd Co-own it With Either Co-Ju, or Thorn Garmadon.)**

We Didn't Start The…

Prologue

Aiden's POV

Honestly, looking back on it, had I never put Rosie down that night, this wouldn't be happening.

I wouldn't have found myself pinned against the ground in the pouring rain, slowly sinking into the mud as the person above me held a vice like grip around my throat, she had pinned my arms to my sides and my legs were half buried under the mud. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky above and flashed off her dagger, blinding me momentarily.

"Night night Aiden." She said, her eyes set in a furious glare.

The dagger drove down, and I closed my eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

**Voila! I had a snow day today so I had time to write this. FIVE DAY WEEKEND AHEAD BABY! W-HOO!**

**I Don't own Ninjago. End of story.**

* * *

We Didn't Start The…

Chapter One: Over Protective Parents and False Alarms

Aiden's POV

When school let out on Friday, I was the first out the door to my classroom. I had a little over fifteen minutes to get home and send my parents a text that I had gotten home safely. They were so overprotective lately. As I pedaled my bike down the streets, avoiding the cars of my classmates and jumping over the last set of steps that separated me from my school campus and downtown Ninjago, which was a whole 'nother set of people trying to hit me with their cars, all of them trying to get somewhere in the late afternoon traffic.

Once I was off the main roads, I was cruising through the neighborhood, waving at my neighbors when they said hello. When I got to my house, the yellow house with the white door and shutters at the very end of the street, I noticed the garage was closed, but a beat up black car was parked on the curb, it looked like it hadn't seen a car wash for the past few years…or even a good rainstorm.

Heading around to the backyard where the shed was, I maneuvered myself and my bike through the rose plants my dad was growing, careful not to hit any of them.

Opening the backdoor, I stepped into the mudroom, slipping my shoes off and into the little spot under my coat hook, where my jacket was hanging, forgotten and abandoned. Mom had taped a note to it.

Aiden you know it was too chilly to be riding your bike this morning without a jacket on. This is your warning young man! Love you!

-Mom

P.S. Your dad and I are going on patrol for the weekend; I already called someone to watch you and your siblings.

Sighing as I crumpled the note in my hand, I walked into the kitchen, dropping the note in the recycling bin.

"God, I'm fifteen and my parents _still _think I need a babysitter!"

"What? Am I not cool enough anymore Aiden? I feel hurt." Said a voice from behind me, turning around, I saw uncle Thorn standing in the doorway, a pink hairclip in his colorless mop of hair. I snickered and he pulled it out of his hair. "Ah, Rosie did manage to put a clip in my hair."

I felt a pair of arms wrap around my legs and I looked down and saw Rosie, her hair was sticking up in every direction. Prying her off of my legs, I picked her up. "Hey kiddo! Did you put that hair clip in his hair?" I asked, when she nodded, I gave her a high-five. "Nice job!" She started wriggling and pushed against my arms, so I put her down and she started running, catching herself with the door frame when she tripped. I swear she was made of rubber.

"Kevin's over at one of his friend's houses." My uncle said as I went upstairs, closing my door behind me. I knew he didn't like being alone, but he still had Rosie to play with.

"Sorry, I have this huge test on Monday, I really need to study." I said, pulling out my textbook and opening it to page three hundred and ninety-four, chapter seven, the history of Ninjago; a veil between legend and fact. As I started reading, my head constantly kept falling closer towards the book and my eyes kept trying to close. This'll be a long weekend if the entire chapter is like this; half of the page is about the facts, while the other half is an actual written account from that time.

When I heard someone knocking on the door, it cracked open and revealed Kevin, my little brother, his T-Rex stuffed animal was dangling from one hand, in the other was a brachiosaurus, I think, he'd know. Kevin knew everything about dinosaurs. "Aiden, will you play with me?" he asked and I gladly closed my textbook, shoving it aside.

"Alright Kev, I'll play with you." I said, accepting the brachiosaurus, we sat on the floor in my room and Kevin decided that his T-Rex was a vegetarian and was going to befriend the Brachiosaurus. I guess he could tell that I wasn't really interested, because he nudged my hand with the T-Rex and looked me in the eyes, tilting his head slightly. "I'm just tired Kevin, I had three tests today at school! What about you? Did you play with the other kids at recess today?" he shook his head.

"I played archeologist!" he said excitedly, dropping his dino to the side, he suddenly looked down and I knew something else had happened. "The other kids threw my hat in the mud though, and then they gave it to some of the older kids and they threw it in the dumpster." I felt my hands become fists. Kevin loved the hat we had found for him, it looked like the hat from Indiana Jones, who was Kevin's idol.

"Let me know if anything like this happens again I'll-"The sound of the fire alarm going off made me stop, instantly my mind went into action, Kevin climbed onto my back and I took the stairs two at a time. I heard Rosie screaming and saw her sitting at the table, covering her ears. In the kitchen, uncle Thorn was using the fire extinguisher against a frying pan. The alarm cut off and Rosie uncovered her ears. Our uncle gave us an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I'm used to just cutting up fruit and eating it, I'm not very good at making grilled cheese." He placed the frying pan onto the now off burner, and went over to the fridge. "Fruit salad alright with you guys?" Rosie energetically clapped her hands while Kevin and I nodded.

This was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

**Me: Ah, If only Aiden knew...**

**Kadence: Am I in this?**

**Me: Later on yes. I'm positive you and Thorn are still in love. He's just spending some time with Rosie, Kevin and Aiden.**

**Kadence: Why do they call him uncle?**

**Me: Because that's just what they do. Probably because calling him a Great-uncle might raise a few questions...and it makes him feel less old...even though he's always going to be 18**

**Kadence: Don't remind me.**

**Me: Cuz he's Forever young, FOREVER YOUNG! *starts singing Forever Young WAY off Key***

**Kadence: *covering ears* Review please! Make it stop!**


	3. Chapter 2

**I Don't own Ninjago. End of story.**

* * *

We Didn't Start The…

Chapter Two: Internet Chat Rooms and Hiding Behind a Car

Amanda's POV

As I closed my door and locked it, anything to tell my neighbor I wanted to be alone, I pulled on my headset and turned on the computer. As I hooked it up to the headphone and the microphone slot and, I began playing with my settings as the chat room loaded.

**Starz_girl12 is now online.**

**SpearHead12 is now online.**

**TwinkleToes12 is now online.**

**AzulaBlitz14 is now online.**

**AzulaBlitz14:** Hey guys.

**TwinkleToes12:** Sup Azula, hey Spear and Starz

**SpearHead12:** My uncle burned grilled cheese….

**AzulaBlitz14: **HOW!?

**SpearHead12: **Because he's a fruitarian and he's watching us for the weekend.

**Starz_Girl12:** Your parents are gone too?

**TwinkleToes12:** Mine too.

"Hey guys, I fixed my mic, hopefully y'all can now hear me." I said, pulling up the internet, clicking onto this trivia site.

"Loud and crystal clear 'Manda." Aiden said. He gave an aggravated sigh and I heard his line click off for a moment. "Sorry, I'll have to go soon; my uncle's having some trouble getting Rosie to go to sleep."

"Wait, your parents left you with Thorn?!" Amy said, obviously shocked, not even my parents let him babysit me. "and they still expect the house to be standing when they get back?"

**SpearHead12: **yeah…why is it that you seriously doubt his abilities to take care of us?

"Because Aiden, he's sort of…unstable, you know, his whole messed up past and all."

**AzulaBlitz14:** 'fraid I gotta go guys, my mom's friend and her kids are here. Le sighs.

"Night Azula." I said, she flicked off the friends list. "Amy, Aiden, you guys want to use the webcams?" I asked, turning my lamp on. Instantly, a picture of Amy popped up on my screen, her black hair was in a sloppy bun, her bangs held back by a dark plum colored headband.

"There's my answer." I rolled my eyes and my cousin popped up next to her. "Hey Aiden." He rubbed his eyes and looked at the window.

"Guys, I'm starting to think that school text books are screwing with my vision."

"Or you're just going cray-cray." Amy said, receiving a frown from both Aiden and I. "Kidding, gosh. You two take everything so seriously." On Aiden's screen, a little girl wearing an oversized white tee-shirt and black pajama pants with colorful polka-dots jumped up to hug him.

"Hey Rosie!" I said, waving at my four year old cousin, Amy waved at Rosie too.

"Manda!" She shouted, waving at me, a smile on her face. "Manda, teww dem not to make me go to sweep. 'M not sweepy." Her actions were contrary to her words. She was rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Guys, I'll be back in a little bit, try not to kill each other." Aiden said, picking up Rosie and allowing her to cling to his back, get tiny fists balled up in his shirt.

"Amanda, as much as I love spending time with you, I gotta go, it's Friday night, and Karaoke party is calling my name…sure you can't sneak out to come over and play?" I shook my head and found myself alone on the web chat.

My neighbor, Miss Cathleen, knocked on my door. "Amanda, I'm letting you know that I've been called into work, one of my friends is sick and I have to cover for her, do you think you will be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I watched as she left, and heaved a mega sigh of relief. Turning my desktop off, I spun myself around in my chair. Outside the sky was quickly darkening, and I saw storm clouds on the horizon. My mind drifted to this morning, when I woke up, I thought it was late in the evening, my entire room was bathed in an orange-ish red light, the stupid rhyme I had heard at some point was sung in my head. _Red skies at morning, sailors take warning._

It wasn't a sign about anything. I knew my parents wouldn't want me to be by myself, so I sent my mom a quick text before heading over to Amy's house a few blocks away, she was probably singing some obnoxious pop song to annoy Matt, her eight year old brother.

The street lamps only illuminated the street every fifteen feet minimum and everything between was pitch black. If my parents knew I was out here, I'd be grounded until the end of time.

"Amanda, what on earth are you doing walking out in the dark on your own?" Turning around, I saw my grandfather walking towards me. "I'm positive Ricky said he had left you with your neighbor." I ran to give him a hug; I hadn't seen him since the holidays.

"Cathleen's friend got sick so she had to go cover her shift and I was on my way to hang out with Amy and Matt."

"So why didn't you pick up the phone hours ago when your mom called?" I turned my head to the side. Mom called? "I was on my way to check up on you, she called me, panicking about the fact you didn't pick up."

"The phone never rang." We walked past my neighbor's wooden fence, turning the corner onto the main road which was better illuminated. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck start rising. Several loud bangs sounded out, and a large hole appeared in the wood behind us. Bullet holes.

Grandpa grabbed my wrist and we started running, for an old man, being a ninja had made it easy to stay active into his old age and I had trouble keeping up. More shots rang out, and he pushed me behind a car, ducking down next to me. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, putting it to his ear, he put one finger in the other ear, blocking out the continuous gun shots.

"Thorn where are you right now?" My stomach flipped nervously, he was calling my great-uncle? Why? "Look, I'm bringing Amanda over soon, be ready." He went to hit the end call button when a bullet hit his phone, sending it flying into the street. He looked me in the eye and I knew he was planning something that was mega dangerous. "Alright Amanda, you're going to have to trust me on this, on the count of three, we start running. One," I got in position, ready to take off. "Two…" I placed my fingertips lightly on the ground. "Three!" I quickly pushed off of the side of the car; something grazed my jacket's sleeve, and a burst of adrenaline shot through me, propelling me to run faster.

I didn't know how, but grandpa and I made it to my aunt Alice's house, the garage door was open and we both darted inside, the door closing quickly after us. Looking at my jacket sleeve I saw a giant tear where a bullet had torn right through the navy material. The adrenaline was wearing off and I felt exhausted, sitting down right on the floor, I realized I was feeling faint. 'Deep breaths Manda, deep breaths' I told myself, the light headed dizziness wore off and I looked up, Aiden and Kevin were standing in the doorway.

"H-h-hey guys." I said my heart pounding. "Looks like I'm staying with you guys tonight."

"We need to make sure Amy and Matthew are okay."

* * *

**Me: Psh...no one called the cops when they heard continuousgun fire?!**

**Alice: I think Amanda just had one of those time where it's a "Don't tell your parents that you did this."**

**Me: Probably...**


	4. Chapter 3

**I Don't own Ninjago. End of story.**

* * *

We Didn't Start The…

Chapter Three: Karaoke, Tiaras and Bedtime Stories

Alice's POV

When I stopped for a moment just to look at the setting sun, my mind couldn't help but travel to worries I always had. What if uncle Thorn told Kevin and Rosie about his childhood? What if he didn't put Rosie down for her afternoon nap at the proper time? What if he wasn't making them go to bed on time? Sure it was a Friday, but with kids, especially ones Kevin and Rosie's age, routines are important! Elliot placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Alice, you know everything is going to be fine. The peace probably isn't ending, the stupid snakes probably are just bored and think that causing mischief will solve that." I stood up, pulling out my phone.

"Maybe I should just call Thorn and ask him how-" Elliot pried the phone out of my hands.

"No, c'mon, let's go meet up with the others, eat some dinner and then go check out some more reports. If anything gets out of hand, Thorn promised he would call your dad for help."

I sighed and put my phone away, Elliot was right. Before I had allowed Thorn to babysit Aiden for the first time ten years ago, I had made him sign a paper saying he knew the rules, which I made him read each time he was going to babysit.

"You're right Elliot, I'm just being paranoid, my uncle has everything under control." A fire engine drove by us, and I looked up slightly at Elliot. "Thorn knows where the fire extinguisher is right?"

"You left a note on the oven saying where it was. Calm down before you hurt yourself. If you're this nervous before we even start fighting, we'll be at a disadvantage when we are fighting."

"You're right, let's go." I took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready."

* * *

Thorn's POV

Looking at the clock on the wall in Rosie's small, rainbow-colored room, I noticed it was getting late, about a half hour before it would be time for her to go to bed. She handed me a small pink tea-cup, and placed something on my head. Reaching up, I removed the object.

In my hand was a plastic tiara painted silver with several pink rhinestones stuck in it. I'm guessing Rosie found my expression funny because she started giggling and removed it from my hand, placing it back on my head. "Thown's the pwincess" She said, giggling harder.

"No I'm not." I said, removing the stupid dress up prop. When she tried to do it again, I grabbed the tiara and placed it on top of the dresser in the corner of her room. Turning around, I found myself looking into two, mismatched, tear filled eyes, Rosie's lower lip was beginning to tremble, and then she started to cry. Shit.

I pulled the tiara back down and stuck it on my head, wiping her tears away. "It's alright, I guess I can be a princess just this time." she looked up at me and smiled. I heard a loud click from behind me and saw Aiden with his phone out, laughing silently. I shot him a look that shut him up.

"Okay!" She rubbed at her eye and started to yawn.

"Are you getting sleepy?" I asked, scooping her up into my arms, the tiara falling off. She nodded, yawning a little more, snuggling into my t-shirt. Carrying her over to her bed, I pulled the soft blue blanket back, and placed Rosie down. Pulling her blankets up, I sat down on the edge of her bed, and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Teww me a stowy!" She said, yawning again. "Pwease?" I tapped my chin lightly. Alice said that if I picked up a book, Rosie would get up, and refuse to go to sleep, something about Rosie going through a phase where she only wanted to hear original stories.

"Alright, just one story, then it's off to sleep with you, Miss Priss." I said, and Rosie giggled lightly. "Once upon a time, there was a little princess by the name of Kadence, and princess Kadence had decided to take a walk one day. So off she went by herself towards the edge of the forest, as she stayed on the path like her mother, the queen, had told her to, she noticed a tall apple tree in a clearing just off of the path. So she walked over to the tree."

"Uh-oh," Rosie said. "Pwincess Kady didn't listen to hew mama!"

"No, she sure didn't. As the princess looked up at the tree, she noticed the prettiest, shiniest, and greenest apples were all the way at the top, so she began to climb. And when she got to the top, and do you know what she saw?" Rosie's eyes were wide with excitement and wonder, and she shook her head. "She saw that all of the pretty apples she had seen from the ground were not as beautiful as she had thought, they were riddled with worms, and not at all shiny. Looking around, she saw there were much prettier ones at a tree not too far away. So she went after them."

"No!"

"Yes, yes she did, and as she climbed up that tree, she saw that the beautiful apples were actually dying, and she knew they would not be tasty. So she climbed down, and looked around, she realized she didn't know where she was, and started crying." I looked at Rosie and I knew she just wanted a happy ending. "As she dried her tears, a small puppy ran by, and she followed him all the way back to the palace, telling her parents what she had learned about not following directions, and do you know what happened next?"

"Dey wived happiwy evew aftew!" Rosie said, holding back a yawn. I lightly kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes, snuggling into the blankets. "Will you sing me a song?" she asked softly, pulling the black dog shaped stuffed animal close to her chest. I nodded, remembering a few of the lullabies that I remember hearing Alice sing when she was a young child in the orphanage, and the ones I had heard her sing to Aiden, Kevin and Rosie.

_"Deep in the meadow_

_Under the willow,_

_A bed of grass,_

_A soft green pillow,_

_Lay down your head,_

_And close your sleepy eyes,_

_And when again they open,_

_The sun will rise._

_Here it's safe,_

_Here it's warm,_

_Here the daisies hide you from every harm._

_Here your dreams are sweet,_

_And tomorrow brings them true,_

_Here is the place where I love you."_

Standing up, I walked towards the door, making sure the lamp by the door was on before I turned off the overhead light. Crossing the hallway, I opened Aiden's door, he and Amanda were standing by his desk, his phone was connected to the computer, and I yanked the cord out of it. "Alright, what's the password?"

"Look, we've already sent the picture to aunt Kadence, and everyone else, and we deleted it."

"What's the password?" I growled, stepping forward, Amanda and Aiden shrunk backwards.

"Three-thousand nine-hundred forty-two" Amanda said.

"Thank you." I said, typing the number in, as I double tapped on recent photos, sure enough there was no sign of me with the tiara. My phone buzzed from its place in my pocket.

**New Text From: **Kadence

I groaned and opened the text.

I always knew you were a drama queen Thorn!

Luv U!

"So what did she say?" Aiden asked, spinning around in his chair.

"None of your business. Is Lloyd still out checking up on Amy and Matt?" They both nodded. "Alright, you two, where's Kevin?" they looked at each other, and I realized they didn't know where he was either. "You lost him?"

"No! We didn't lose him! You're supposed to be babysitting, shouldn't you know?!"

"Touché. Let's just not tell Alice about any of this." I said as I left the room, opening the door to Kevin's room to see the window was closed, and his room empty. I ran down the stairs two at a time, his shoes and jacket were gone. Shit, where did that kid go?! Alice will _kill _me if I lost him, heck Lloyd would kill me first and _then _let Alice murder me over and over.

The phone rang when I opened the door to the basement, which they seemed to always keep locked.

"Hello?" I said, picking it up.

"Hey Thorn, I hope you noticed that you're one short." Lloyd said, and I could imagine he was smirking on the other end. "Kevin snuck out with me, Everything's fine, but there's a van parked across the street that's been there since I got here, and I'm thinking that it would probably be best if I brought Matt and Amy over. Right now the three of them are upstairs watching a movie, I think its Charlotte's Web, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Probably a smart idea…but if you do, tell them that I just got Rosie to go to sleep. The kid's already going to wake up in a few hours because of nightmares according to Alice's lecture from this afternoon, and I don't want her up before then." I closed the door and locked it shut, sliding the dead bolt across. "Be careful old man. You've already been shot at once tonight."

"Alright, and who are you calling old?!" I hung up on my brother, and climbed up the stairs again, turning the porch light on for them.

* * *

**Me: I don't own the song Deep in the Meadow. **

**So Anyone have any Questions they want me to answer? I Dare y'all to ask me anything, and I mean _ANYTHING. _I will answer truthfully.**


	5. Chapter 4

**I Don't own Ninjago. End of story.**

* * *

We Didn't Start The…

Chapter Four: By Her Side

Shay's POV

"Mom, I'm just taking Bandit and Devil out for a quick run, and then I'll bring them back, I promise!" I said, holding onto the door handle and swinging back and forth, the loud squeak echoed through the room. "Besides, it's not like we can leave until Lena and Jacky are back from their piano lessons." My mother pivoted in her swivel chair, the sinking sun danced off of her graying red hair.

"Fine, but only if you're-" I ran forward and wrapped my arms around her, before I grabbed the black leashs off of her desk and started running down the hall. "-Careful!" She finished, and I began to descend the stairs, two at a time, completely ignoring the last four.

I hit a piece of paper that was in the hall, and skated past Jojo, he was the first kid Bianca, our mom, had adopted, she soon found Jacky, and then she took Lena and I in just last fall.

When I opened the back door and stepped out into the green grass, my sandals still dangling from my right hand, the slightly damp grass and wet soil squished beneath my feet. A small brown dog with white and black markings came up to me, yapping up a storm.

"Hey Devil!" I said, bending down. Twisting his collar, I clipped the leash and stood up. "Let's go find Bandit." I said, running to keep up with the small dog, he may have short little legs, but dang that dog can run! When we got closer to the woods at the edge of our yard, I could hear Bandit growling, he gave a sharp bark that echoed through the trees. Devil took a step back, and crouched, beginning to growl. "C'mon you big baby, Bandit probably just found a squirrel."I started walking forwards, but Devil refused to move. "Really, we've been in here a _thousand _times, the worst we've encountered was that yellow jacket nest, and even then, I wrapped you up in my jacket and took most of the stings! Stop being such a stubborn, bratty dog and come on!" He still didn't move.

"Fine." I said, unclipping the leash from his collar. "I'll just go get Bandit, and then we'll go to the fountain instead." Devil took off towards the house and I slid my feet into my sandals. Threading the other leash through the belt loops on my pants; I slipped into the thick undergrowth of the overrun forest. "Bandit!" I shouted into the quiet forest, the loud cawing of a single crow being my only response. "Bandit, where are you?" That was when I heard it, the low whimpering of a wounded dog.

There she was, her golden coat quickly staining red. I dropped down next to her. She needed medical attention, but there was no way I'd be able to get her out of here on my own. I looked her over, and saw how her left front leg was bent at an odd angle, what had she gotten herself into? Picking up a small stick, I removed the aquamarine colored scarf that Lena had tied around my neck after school, showing me what her friend Becky had taught her, and I lifted her injured paw, straightening it against the stick, and began wrapping the scarf around her leg.

"It's gonna be alright girl, I'm gonna get you home. Mom's gonna take you to the vet, I promise." I whispered, trying not to cry. Bandit was one of my best friends, she listened to me when I was upset, and she somehow knew when I was hiding something. Bandit weighed about the same as I did, there was no way I'd get her out on my own, I couldn't leave her here just to go get mom's help!

"Is anyone here?" Someone asked in the distance. Was there a hiker who might know what hurt her?

"I am! My dog's hurt, she really needs medical attention, but I can't carry her!" I shouted in the direction of the voice.

"What happened to your dog?" The person asked, this time closer.

"I don't know, she got out of our yard I guess, and I came to get her, and she's bleeding from her side, and I think she broke one of her legs." I looked down at her, and she looked past me, her eyes glazing over. "No, Bandit don't die, please don't die." I whispered, stroking her coat as she laid her head on my thigh, closing her eyes, I could feel her breath slowing down.

Anger, it was my first emotion. Whoever had done this was going to pay.

Sadness immediately replaced it, Bandit was one of my first real friends.

But then there was this other feeling, and I couldn't describe it. I just held Bandit close to me, and that was when I felt it. Her warm breath against my arm, her strong heartbeat returning, her eyes opening to look at me. She was alive!

The person who had been asking questions broke through the leaves, it was a teenager, maybe eighteen years old, with blonde hair and he was wearing all white. "Is this your dog?" he asked, kneeling down next to me, he stroked her head.

"Yeah, her name's Bandit." He gently lifted her up, carrying her in his arms, minding the bleeding cut on her side, and her broken leg. "I'm Shay, my house is this way." I said, starting to walk ahead.

"My name is Zane." We kept walking quickly, and inside, I couldn't ignore how my heart was beating rapidly, should I tell him that Bandit had died briefly in my arms? Would he think I was crazy? "Is something wrong?"

I laughed nervously, but ran forwards towards my mom who was standing on the back porch, Devil yapping at her ankles. She saw Zane carrying Bandit and then she saw the scarf I had tied to her leg, and then she saw the blood, immediately she snapped into action, pulling out her phone, calling the vet to say we were on the way.

Jojo walked out, and he saw Bandit, quickly he hugged me. "Shay-shay, it's gonna be alright." He said, using his nickname for me. I couldn't stop the tears now, they ran down my face, and when mom and Zane started to carry Bandit to the car, laying her down in the trunk, I followed, climbing in next to her.

"Mom," I said my voice thick with tears. "I'm not leaving her!"

"Alright."

* * *

Lena's POV

I sat next to Jacky on the piano bench, watching her fingers glide over the keys. She was talented, she could listen to a piece of music and find all the notes and play them. It wasn't like using a music score would help her anyways. She couldn't see it. Jacky had been born blind, but she adapted quickly, her ears were stronger than anyone's that I had met. She knew us by our voices, the sound of our footsteps, it was pretty cool.

"Lena, Jacky, your mother called." Mrs. Clary said from the doorway. Jacky immediately stopped. "She said she's going to pick you up soon, and that Shay isn't going to be with you at dinner tonight, she said that Shay is refusing to leave Bandit alone in the hospital."

"Bandit's hurt?" I asked, and Mrs. Clary nodded.

"Bandit broke her leg, and she was stabbed in the side it appears. They believe she's going to be fine, but Shay doesn't want to leave her alone."

"Alright, thank you for telling us Mrs. Clary." Jacky said, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Oh Shay, she's strong, but this is going to be so hard on her, what if Bandit ends up dying? The two of you have seen so much death in your lives, and she's so young, there's still a chance that Bandit could leave her-"I grabbed her hand and she stopped talking. "You're right, it's best to remember that Bandit is alive, and she's going to be fine. That dog is a fighter; she won't go down that easily." We both stood up, and I closed the piano, placing my music folder on top. Jacky pulled on her light grey sweater. "Let's go wait outside for mom." I led her out of Mrs. Clary's home, and we sat on the dark brown wicker chairs.

The two of us sat comfortably in silence, and I began to mess with my hair. "Quit it." Jacky said, obviously irritated by the motion. "You keep moving, which makes the chair shift and squeak."

"Alright." I saw mom's car pull around the corner. "Mom's here."

"Then let's go." Jacky said, and I grabbed her hand, helping her down the stairs and through the grass to the car.

* * *

**Me: yeah..this was a total filler chapter, but in a way, it kinda wasn't. That whole thing with Shay and Bandit was kinda sad to write about.**

**Shay: Think about how I felt! Bandit seriously _died _in my ams, I knew she died, so what happened?**

**Me: Shay-shay, you'll see.**

**Shay: Stop calling me that! So you guys...if you wanna review...it'll make Monday write more! She promises!**

**So Anyone have any Questions they want me to answer? I Dare y'all to ask me anything, and I mean _ANYTHING. _I will answer truthfully.**


	6. Chapter 5

**I own nothing but my oc's. Some other wonderful people own some of the other OC's, and they know who they are.**

* * *

We Didn't Start The…

Chapter Five: Unplanned Swim

Amy's POV

Matt and I crouched down low by the door frame as Lloyd opened it to carry Kevin out to his car, when he opened the car door and placed Kevin in his car seat, Matt and I, still crouched down, climbed into the back of the car, pressing ourselves against the floor of the car.

"Amy, Amy I'm scared." I didn't speak to him, but I grabbed his warm hand, squeezing it lightly.

Lloyd started driving away from our home slowly, I could feel the tension in the air, and it would have taken a sword to sever it. Poking my head up just so I could look at Kevin's sleeping face, I felt my little brother curl closer towards me. "Amy, everything's gonna be okay, right?" I wrapped my arms around him and nodded in the darkness. It was cool in the car, and Matt was his usual warm self, cuddly like a teddy bear, and warm like a furnace.

"Of course it is Sukoshi ro, I promise, everything is going to be okay." Even though I could feel somewhere deep inside that life was going to change tonight, I don't know how, but it was going to. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head so my nose was in his soft, slightly wavy brown hair. I felt my mind and body relaxing, the adrenaline that had filled me when we were leaving quickly wearing off.

That was when I suddenly felt the car speed up quickly, and Lloyd swore quietly.

"Amy, Matt, buckle up, now. They know you're here, this is about to get rough!" within seconds, I had pushed Matt into the seat, snapping the seat belt in place, his brown eyes snapped open, looking at me in fear. I put a finger to my lips, calming him.

That was when the white van behind us rear ended the old car. I fell backwards, my head hitting the gear shift thingy. Rolling into the passenger's seat, I threw the buckle on just in time to prevent my head from hitting the dash board as they rear ended us again, this time waking Kevin up.

"Damn it, looks like they're trying to run us off the road." He muttered, and I knew he was hoping I hadn't heard that word. Glancing in the mirror, he took a deep breath. "Alright you three, you're going to have to trust me on this!" as they moved to rear end us again, he swerved right, and we plunged into the dark foliage off the side of the road.

There was a loud splashing sound, and I felt water trickle into my shoes. No way, had we driven into the lake?! Looking out the windshield, I saw water quickly rising. "Kids, unbuckle yourselves now! When the car is completely submerged, we're going to open the doors, and swim out, alright?" Lloyd said, swiveling around after he undid his seatbelt, messing with the clips on Kevin's car seat, his fingers slipped multiple times, and I knew he was nervous.

We all had unbuckled our seatbelts, and were ready to go, water slowly filled up the cabin of the car, and I couldn't help but shiver as it reached my neck, tickling at the roots of my hair. I took a deep breath as water finally filled the car completely, and opened my door, grabbing Matt's hand while Lloyd swam out with Kevin; I felt icy needles stabbing into my skin.

The water was dark and murky, screwing my eyes shut tighter, I kicked towards what I thought had to be the surface.

Cool air burned against my skin, and I kept my grip on Matt, now was not the time to let him slip back under. Lloyd surfaced further down the river with Kevin clinging onto his back. "Mattie, climb onto my back, we're going to move." A flashlight was shining right on us, and I could hear them coming. "Mattie, get on my back now!" He wrapped his arms around my neck, and I began to swim, letting the frigid waters force us downstream.

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Lena's POV

I looked at Azure, and she looked back at me. We were both pretty bored of our parent's conversation. She stood up and gestured for me to follow. Azure and I went out onto the porch.

"So Shay's at the vet?" I nodded. "Let's go meet up with her, find out if Bandit's okay." I grabbed her hand.

"I don't know, mom said that Shay was really quiet…like something's wrong."

"Even better of a reason to go check up on her. C'mon, it's not like they'll notice."

I couldn't object, I'd been worried all night, Bandit was like a second mom to Shay and I, when the two of us first got here, we had this mindset that Bianca was going to send us back as soon as something happened, except we would run away and take Bandit with us.

Following Azure, we began walking to the animal hospital in town.

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Lauren's POV

Something didn't feel right. As I laid on a rooftop with Alice next to me, the chilly desert's night air brushed against my hand.

"They're not doing anything, so why are we still here?" She murmured, obviously worried about her kids. Closing my eyes for a moment, I thought about my kids, Matt and Amy would be fine at home alone, and if anything happened, they knew that they could call for help.

Alice suddenly gripped my hand, and shot up, a panicked look on her all too familiarly pale face. "The river, they're at the river! The one that's on the south side of the city! They're chasing after someone!"

"Whoa, Alice, calm down, tell me what you saw!"

"My dad, he was driven off the road! He's at the bottom of the river now!" She took a deep breath before continuing. "Matt and Amy were in there too."

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**See! I told ya I'd update this today!**

**Lol...this story is the slowest of this series, the next few are jam packed with events!**

**Reyla: Including my introduction**

**Avalon: And mine!**

**Reyla: Yeah, Avie's special.**

**Avalon: Thanks Rey-rey! **

**Me: Heh...there's foreshadowing all in this, and next chapter we'll see how Shay is, and find out something with Bandit.**

**Lena: Alright, Monday's going to answer all the questions you guys had from the last chappie!**

**Me: Yep, now let's go!**

**MusicOrangeNinja **asked: Is Shay the ninja of life?

**No, she's not, you'll see what she did in the next chapter. I promise. (if not, then you'll know by the end of the second fic.)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Welcome back.**

**Yada yada yada, I don't own this blah blah blah.**

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Chapter Six: What Happened?

Lena's POV

When we got to the animal hospital, I saw Shay sitting on a chair, holding onto a small Dixie cup of water. There was a teenager in blonde sitting next to her, talking to her. I walked over to them.

"Shay, you heard what Dr. Montgomery said; Bandit is alright now, she should be okay. They said that she only died for a few seconds, but something jump started her heart." Shay hiccuped, and took a shaky breath.

"I know, I don't know how it happened though."

"It was a strange phenomenon, that is for sure." The blonde boy looked up at me, and I felt his eyes looking through me. Shay looked at me, stood up and dropped the small cup. She ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged back, holding her close, I reached up to run my fingers through her hair, which usually calmed her down.

_CRACK!_

I jumped back, Shay had always been prone to static electricity, and we all usually got the discharge, but it was never _that _loud. Her short bangs were now sticking out in weird angles. Dr. Montgomery walked over to us, and put one hand on my shoulder, and his other on Shay.

"Hi girls, Bandit's in recovery, but we're going to have to keep her here for tonight, just to keep an eye on her. Do you want to see her? She's a little banged up, but we managed to stitch up and bandage that wound, and her leg's already been set, she's still a little disoriented, but she'll probably be happy to see you two." He have my sister a warm smile, and Shay hiccuped again, nodding.

He led us into the back, and into one of the vet's offices, on a bed in the corner was Bandit, she lifted her head, and I could see the brightness in her eyes. Her tail was wagging, and Shay ran over to her, dropping down and wrapping her arms around Bandit's neck. She whispered to Bandit, and I could tell she was crying again.

"Lena, may I speak to you for a moment?" Dr. Montgomery said, he tilted his head towards the hallway, and I followed.

"Yes sir, what d'ya have to tell me?" I asked, leaning back on my heels. He looked back at Shay, and her wild brown hair. Shaking his head, he looked back at me.

"Your sister, Shay, she's really close to Bandit, right?" I nodded, and felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Was Bandit in a worse condition than they were letting on? "When your mother-"

"Adoptive mom." I said. Bianca wasn't my mom, and I hated when people called her my mom. My mom had loved me. That much I was sure of.

"Well, when she brought Bandit in, Bandit's heart rate was erratic, meaning it was all over the place. We were very worried that it was going to lead to a heart attack. Thankfully we managed to lower her heart rate back to a good, steady beat."

"So there's still a chance that she'll die?"

"No, no. Bandit's a strong girl, she should be fine." He said, slightly hesitating. I nodded, and went back into the room, Shay had fallen asleep cradling Bandit's head in her arms. I smiled at her before I nudged her side with my shoe.

"C'mon Shay-Shay, you can't stay here all night, and we need to let Bandit sleep, c'mon kiddo, wake up."

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Thorn's POV

I was sitting downstairs, flipping mindlessly through the pages of a book Alice had left on the bookshelf when I heard Rosie start screaming. Her voice suddenly pierced the air, and I started running towards the stairs, a muffled thump, and the sound of footsteps let me know that Aiden was already running to comfort his sister. By the time I got to her room and turned on the overhead light, Aiden already had his arms wrapped around his sister as she flailed her limbs and cried. Fear was written all over her face, and her mismatched eyes looked unfocused and glazed over, as though she was still dreaming. Slowly, her struggle stopped, but the tears still flowed silently down her face. I pulled at the sleeve of my shirt, pulling it so that the edge of the fabric was between my thumb and forefinger and wiped gently at the tears on her cheek. Aiden slowly stood up and left the room.

"Uncle Thown, I had a bad dweam." Rosie mumbled, pulling a small, light yellow bunny out from the tangle of blankets. She held it tightly in her arms, and I wrapped on arm around her shoulders.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" She shook her head and pointed at the window.

"Sometin' bad 's comin." She mumbled, her eyes beginning to close again. "The boy in my dweam said so."

"Rosie, what boy?" I asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. She laid back down against her pillow, and pulled the bunny tighter to her body.

"The one the bone people were huwting." She closed her eyes and mumbled another sleepy good night, before she rolled on her side. I was numb on the inside. Rosie had only used four words that managed to chill me to the core. The skeletons had a kid in their possession, and they were hurting him. To them, pain was a cheap form of entertainment. As I walked out of her room, I could feel my hands turning into fists.

I was one thing, me being tortured was the only reason I got to live. Mom hadn't wanted me, and dad had no choice.

This kid though, whoever he was, was probably snatched from his home without a second thought.

They got bored, so they took a kid to beat to death.

Not cool.

The doorbell rang, and snapped me from my thoughts. Opening the door, I saw Lloyd holding onto Kevin, Matt and Amy stood behind him. All of them were soaking wet and dripping water. It was puddling around their feet.

"Do I even want to know what happened old man?" I asked, stepping aside so they could come in.

* * *

**Me: You know the drill.**

**Reyla: This fan fiction story is beginning to wrap up! That means we're getting closer to meeting me!**

**Me: Yeah, we'll meet you after a six year time skip, along with Avie, who's going to be about four years old. **

**Hannah: Review or we'll make this a meaningful story where the dog dies.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Sorry this took so long, school's been tough, and I may or may not have been busy writing other fics.**

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Chapter Seven: And Through the Woods

Aiden's POV

About an hour after everyone had settled down, they all were asleep. Even my uncle, who never seems to sleep, was fast asleep.

Unfortunately I couldn't fall asleep. I had heard what Rosie said happened in her dream. I was just lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling. Uncle Thorn had told me about the skeletons last summer when I had asked him about his childhood. Kadence had made a face telling me it wasn't something I wanted to hear, but he told me anyway. I knew that they had tortured him when he was a kid, but I hadn't known that it was to the extent it had been.

I heard a loud thump, and assumed that Rosie had rolled off her bed again. It wouldn't have been the first time we'd find her fast asleep on the floor, blankets still draped over the side of her bed.

Rolling so I was on my side, I closed my eyes.

Another thump, this one louder. Sliding off of my bed, I stepped over Kevin who was asleep on my floor, and I opened the door, stepping lightly to avoid any loose boards. Downstairs I heard voices, and I descended the stairs, stopping midway, just enough so I could see who was down there.

"You sssaid they would be here! How do we know that they haven't left?" A snake hissed. I held my breath. They were here looking for _us?_ Upstairs, I heard Rosie starting to cry again. The way their footsteps were shuffling towards the stairs, I ran back up, not caring how much noise I made.

Throwing the door to the guest room open, I turned on the light, and ran over to my uncle, shaking his shoulder roughly, his eyes shot open. "Whoa, where's the fire Aiden?"

"Serpentine, downstairs." I said, and he sprung up, grabbing his swords out from under the bed.

"Wake everyone up; we need to get out of here. Running out of the room, I turned the lights in my room on, which woke up Kevin, who sat up, and saw uncle Thorn running past with his swords, ready to fight, He slid out of the sleeping bag.

"Go get Amanda." I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He nodded, and ran towards his room, where Amanda had fallen asleep while playing with him. I ran into Rosie's room, and saw a snake leaning over her, trying to grab her as she thrashed around, still dreaming. "Let her go!" I shouted, running towards the snake. A quick look at him made me remember the lessons grandpa had given us on Serpentine identification. Bright blue with red eyes, Hypnobrai, if you hear them, don't look into their eyes. It's how they control you. Instead I looked at Rosie, who was settling back in her blankets, her breathing was calming down. A peaceful expression fell across her face.

In the distance, I could hear church bells tolling. Making a grab for Rosie, I ran out of the room.

_Dong_

I saw Amanda and Kevin running down the stairs.

_Dong_

We all snuck into the garage, and Rosie woke up. "What's goin' on Aidy?" She mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes. I tapped my finger against her lips, our signal for quiet.

_Dong_

My uncle stepped into the garage, and pointed to his car. We ran, flinging the doors open. Amanda slipped into the passenger's seat, while passing Kevin into the backseat, and I made sure his door was locked as he buckled up. Disregarding all safety precautions, I sat Rosie on my lap and buckled the seat belt around us. If they tried to run us off the road, then she'd go flying out the window. The seat belt sat heavily against my chest and I wrapped my arms around her.

_Dong_

_Dong_

_Dong_

My uncle started driving, and I glanced behind us, the Serpentine were following. The silence was killing me, and I felt Rosie tugging on my shirt, one of her nonverbal ways of letting us know that she was really scared. "It's gonna be okay Rosie. I promise." Closing my eyes, I held Rosie close as I began to drift off again.

_Dong_

_Dong_

_Dong_

The car suddenly lurched forward, and woke me from my daze, my head hitting my uncle's seat. The bell was tolling again, but this time it seemed very distant. "Damn it!" My uncle mumbled, looking out the window, I saw that we were in the middle of the birch wood forest, and it was snowing heavily. Rosie shivered violently against me. "Kids, get out of the car, and start running. Amanda, you're in charge of Kevin, Aiden, you need to protect Rosie."

"It's below freezing out here!" Amanda said, undoing Kevin's seat belt.

"It's either run, and you'll warm up, or we can all sit here and wait for the snakes to catch up." My uncle said, and I undid my seat belt, holding Rosie close. Pushing against the door as I pulled on the handle, the door opened a few inches before stopping.

"It's stuck!" I shouted, and Amanda grabbed Kevin. Rosie climbed onto my back, digging her heels into my sides. I pushed against the other door, which opened quickly, and jumped out. Icy needles stabbed at the soles of my feet as I landed in a knee-high snow drift. My uncle headed one way, while Amanda and I headed another.

"H-how do we even know where we're going?" Amanda hissed, shivering in the cold. It was dark, and all the trees looked the same. A flashlight's beam hit a tree to my right.

"Get down!" I whispered, and we all flopped into the snow, cold flakes cascaded onto from the sides, most of them landing on Rosie, who whimpered in response. Rolling on my side, I pulled her so she was now in front of me. I could hear them getting closer, and used my arm to rake some of the snow over us, hopefully hiding us from them.

A foot sank through the snow, and maybe an inch away from my nose. I held my breath. If I breathe, they would feel the warmth of my breath, and we'd all be busted.

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**HAHA! Leaving you there! Aiden can't hold his breath forever...**

**looks likeThe next chapter might be the last for this book, and then there's the epilogue, which sets the stage for the next book. **


	9. Chapter 8

**I own nothing blabbity blah...**

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Chapter Eight

Aiden's POV

I didn't dare breathe, and I knew I'd pay for that. I couldn't move without the snow shifting, and I felt a flashlight's beam reaching through the snow, and shining into my eyes.

I open my mouth slightly, and slowly exhale, praying that whoever is above me _can't _feel my breath against their leg.

Apparently, the world is deciding to be shit to me today, and they notice, jerking their leg out, and bringing it down a few more inches to their left. Their bare foot rested against the side of my head. I stuck out my tongue, trying not to whine about how gross that is. The foot slid down, continuing until it rested on my neck. There was no way they couldn't feel my pulse against their foot.

Without warning, a hand shot down, and grabbed Rosie. She screamed, thrashing in the attacker's grip. Quickly, I got out of the snow, and came face to face with the snake who held my screaming little sister.

It was one of the Fangpyre scouts. Rosie was no longer screaming, and fighting back, but was lying limply in his arms, her mismatched eyes tearful and scared. She reached out for me, and I wanted to reassure her.

I took a step back, trying not to trip over the others. "Give her back."

"Why? Ssshe'sss no longer your resssponsssibility." He said, stepping back as well, putting more distance between us.

I laughed. "That's where you're wrong. Rosie is, and always has been my responsibility." I nudged Amanda with my foot. "So I'll ask again." Give her back."

"No." He hissed, turning around and running. I stood for a second before pounding after them, stumbling over hidden tree roots.

"Give her back!"I shouted. The snake was out of my sight now, and snow was quickly piling up, covering his tracks. "Rosie!" I shouted, sinking down in the snow. "Rosie..."

Hot tears ran down my face, and I wiped them away.

_'She's gone...it's all my fault, and she's gone.' _

I sat there in the snow for a while, until my uncle walked up behind me. "She's gone." I whispered, biting my lip. "She's gone, and it's all my fault. I should have been faster! I could have saved her!"

"But you didn't, and we can't change that now." He started walking away, before throwing his phone at me. "Since you want to take the blame, you can call Alice and let her know. Good luck."

I flipped through his contacts and found mom's number. It began ringing, mom wasn't picking up. Just when I thought she wasn't going to answer, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Mom..." I said, trying not to cry. "Mom I messed up."

"Aiden, what happened?" I felt tears falling. "Aiden, are you okay? Is your uncle having a flashback again? Get Kevin and Rosie-"

"Mom, Rosie's gone. One of the snakes took her." I whispered, the cold winds were laughing at me, biting at me. "I'm sorry! I should have held on tighter! It's my fault." I could her her trying not to cry.

"Aiden, where are the others? Where are you?"

"Birchwood forest, I'd assume the others are with Zane." I mumbled. "I love you mom."

"We'll keep an eye out for Rosie. Lauren and I are currently watching over their city, it looks like they're preparing to do something..." She stopped. "Aiden, get out of the snow, I'll let dad know what happened. Bye-bye sweetie."

"Bye mom."

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**Me: All we have after this is the epilogue, and then it's on to book two! epilogue should be up soon!**


	10. Epilogue

**I own nothing blabbity blah...**

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Epilogue

I knelt against the cold stone. "Both of you know what to do, right?"

"Yes sir." Mako and I said in unison, no hesitation in our voices. Hesitation was bad, we'd get hurt if we hesitated.

"Stand up, both of you." We did, our eyes stayed trained on the floor, as if we could burn a hole through it by glaring at it. "You'll depart in the morning, and we will give the two of you five days to get her. If one of you is caught, the other will be punished until you return..." I felt everyone's eyes boring into me, piercing the red fabric of my shirt, the hood pulled far over my hair. "Until the morning, return them to their cell." Skeletal hands gripped my upper arms tightly before leading me back to the small cell we shared.

It was silent until we heard them walk away. I pulled off my hood, and looked at Mako. Dark circles under his eyes stood out against his skin. He looked down at the picture of our target.

"So that's it? All we have to do is get this kid?" He sat down on the ground, back to the wall. "She should be easy enough to catch. She's only six, maybe seven years old, nothing special." His purple eyes looked at me. "It's been seven years since you came here, right?"

"Yeah..." I whispered, staring at the image of the pale, red headed girl. Something about her...it almost seemed familiar. I clutched at my head, a memory was trying to surface again. I was smaller, sitting outside on a dock, and it was dark. _"Those are stars, they're pretty aren't they." _A calm voice said. _"When I was younger, I came out here to look at the stars with my little sister." _I shoved the memory away. For all I was concerned, my past was everything that has happened in seven years. Whatever my "life" was like before then didn't matter anymore. I couldn't get it back.

Or maybe I never had a life before I was brought down here. Maybe I've always been here.

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**Me: Alright! I'm about to work on book two!**


End file.
